Harsher Than Winter
by Sapcoat
Summary: What happens when Canada is caught in a cold, harsh Winter, on the verge of death? A shining star comes to the rescue! Oh no, that's just Russia. Canada is saved by Russia, but Russia takes him back to his mansion, where he holds secrets worse than death.
1. CHAPTER ONE

**Hi, everybody! I've been really uninspired for a while, so that's why I haven't submitted anything (oh, I've written, a bunch, but, the problem is, almost all of it sucks. =P) for a long while. How did I get my inspiration back? I SLEPT! xD Oh yes, sleep gave me this story, 'cause I dreamt it. =3 Sleep does help, da?**

**Anyway, enjoy the story, and please review (reviews equal love!), add this to your Favorites (also love!), add it to your Story Alerts, heck, add me as a Favorite Author! /shot! Yeah... you most likely won't do the last one. xD Oh, and I will try to update this every day if possible. =3 Again, please enjoy this story!**

**Hetalia and its characters do not belong to me. =P They all belong to Hidekaz Himaruya. **

**Harsher Than Winter**

**CHAPTER ONE**

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><p>I trudged through the knee-high snow, my breath making little crystalline clouds as panted. The visible vapor cloud trailed behind me, going with the harsh wind as I continued forward. I could faintly register tears running down my face, past my rosy cheeks, and I sniffled. Snowflakes landed on my hair, and each one just seemed to make me colder and colder. ... I felt completely horrible in this wasteland.<p>

What would I be doing here, in a forest, in the middle of Winter, exhausted, wanting nothing more than to just be back at my cozy home, being more or less ignored? I... I really wasn't sure, exactly. I was simply... lost.

You see, it's not a very long story leading up to why I was wandering around lost in a snowy forest, freezing, though it is a rather interesting one. Though, I-I'd really appreciate it if you would listen... it'd mean a lot, since no one ever really listens to me when I speak...

It started with the night before, back at my house.

"Why are you so down, Mattie! What's wrong?" An unusually loud voice called from my bedroom's doorway. I took my eyes off of the carpeted floor and looked up at my brother, Alfred, who was looking down at me with that over-ecstatic smile of his. His blue eyes looked brighter than usual, I noticed.

I shifted my position on the bed, and hugged Kumajiro, my polar bear, closer to my chest. "N-nothing..." I lied, adverting my eyes to the side. I didn't like lying, it felt so dirty. Lying to my brother was even worse, since he was one of the few people that... sort of... acknowledged me... but, I knew that he didn't want to listen to my stories about how no one pays attention to me.

Alfred gave me a thumbs up and winked, the tiniest of blush showing on his face. "Well okay, then, lil' bro'! Guess this is bye for now, then! Arthur and I are going to go to one of his pubs, beer helps you heat up your body in the Winter, ya know, and we probably won't be back for a while! I'll lock the door so that no one will be tempted to steal ya!" He laughed loudly. And with that, he started to turn and jog back down the hallway, to where Arthur must have been waiting for him.

"... W-wait...!" I tried to give a frantic yell, but it just turned into a whisper. I sighed, and buried my face into Kumajiro's head. "Why...?" I asked, my voice muffled by the bear's fuzzy fur. "Why am I so quiet...?"

The bear suddenly turned his face around to meet my eyes, so I pulled my head back slightly to look at him. "... Who are you?" It asked in a cute and unknowing voice.

Again, I sighed. Old habits die hard. I finally answered him after a moment. "... I told you before, I'm your owner, Canada..." The bear stared blankly at me with its black eyes for a second longer and then turned its head back around, apparently satisfied with the answer.

I looked at the digital clock on my bedside table and blinked at the red glowing numbers. It was 9:30 PM. "Well... I-I'm not really tired, but I guess sleep would maybe do some good for my mood..." I pushed myself off of the bed and carefully set Kumajiro on the sheets, sitting up nice and straight. The plush carpet squished between my toes as I made my way over to my wooden dresser. I pulled open one of the drawers, revealing a set of my pajamas (my favorites; they were red with bright orange maple leaves printed on them). I took them out, and headed to my bathroom to change for bed. I shut the door behind me.

A few minutes later, I opened the bathroom door back up and stepped out in my fresh pajamas. None too surprisingly, they had smelled faintly like a lush pine forest, just like everything in my room did. I had tossed my worn clothes in the hamper in my bathroom, so I could put them in the washing machine another day.

I strode my way over to my bed, and, pulling the sheets up, gingerly lay down, making sure not to lay on Kumajiro, whom I brought up in my arms. My glasses stayed on my face, because I had grown accustomed to sleeping with them, and it just felt good wearing them. "_Bonne nuit_," I murmured to no one in particular, and closed my eyes, later falling asleep and having some rather odd and realistic dreams.

When I woke up the next day, it wasn't because of my automatic alarm clock beeping next to my ear.

... (THE NEXT MORNING) ...

My eyes slowly fluttered open, and I found myself incredibly cold. I curled my body into a tight ball, trying to regain my somehow-lost warmth. ... Only a minute later did I realize that I was completely surrounded by snow and trees.

How had I gotten out here? It took me a while to think of an answer, but then it hit me: my "realistic" dreams. How they seemed so realistic - because they were real.

... Sleep-walking. Why did he have to have an uncontrollable habit of sleep walking - to the extreme?


	2. CHAPTER TWO

**Hello, again, everyone! =D This chapter's shorter, but I like it better than the first one. I promise that the next one will be much longer and much better! Remember to review, Fave, etc.. Spread the love! 3 Thanks for reading, and enjoy! Kolkolkolkol...**

**Oh, yes, and Hetalia does not belong to me, it belongs to its respectful owner. ^^**

**Harsher Than Winter**

**CHAPTER 2**

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><p>... (BACK TO THE PRESENT) ...<p>

The sky above the bare trees was getting darker and darker, and now stars shone dimly down upon the earth. Only the very tip of the sun could be seen over the horizon. It had been almost a full day since I had woken up.

The snow that had been coming down earlier came down much thicker and heavier, and now it was almost impossible to walk - though thank God my sleeping form had decided to put shoes on before I had sleep-walked out of the house and gotten myself lost.

My face was completely flushed, and the tips of my fingers... were turning a light black. Frostbite had begun to settle. It would only be a matter of time before... I didn't want to think about it.

Oh God, why? The familiar questions rang in my head: Why me? _Why?_

Suddenly, I stopped trying to budge my way through the deep snow. I just stood there, shivering for a moment. An important realization had then just hit me: I... I wasn't going to make it. I was most likely dozens of miles away from my house, with no Winter clothing, and no sense of direction. As soon as I would fall asleep, I would freeze to death because my body was soaked with wet snow.

... And now, thinking about it, I was so, _so_ tired. I needed sleep. My body couldn't take it, I wasn't used to this type of exposure to the cold. But, if I went to sleep at all... it'd be the end for sure. Of course, no one would even realize I was gone... my body would just get covered up by snow and never be discovered until Spring, when the snow melted and adventurous hikers took random walks through unmarked territory... Maybe they wouldn't even see my corpse then. I did blend into the background often, wherever I seemed to be... Thinking of that, my eyes instantly filled up with tears, and my vision turned blurry.

My knees feeling weak, I let my body fall backwards to the ground in a small heap. The snow toppled over my arms and legs, and I felt myself sink into the snow, slowly, inch by inch. The sudden, full-on contact with the icy snow made my numb skin tingle in displeasure. I sighed - my body hurt so much.

I stared up at the sky, now well dark, and sighed with half-lidded eyes. There was not a cloud in the sky. And the moon, now visible, gleamed brightly down on me, the trees, the snow, everything, casting shadows. I had never really noticed how beautiful everything was at night, how peaceful it all seemed. It didn't seem real, almost like a dream.

Just when I had stopped crying, another wave of tears hit me, blurring my eyes and my glasses further. How I wished that this nightmare was a dream... and that's all that I was; _an unnoticable nightmare surrounded by dreams._

A minute later, my crying subsided once more. I didn't think I had any tears left. My body was literally freezing, as well as numb, though I was somehow getting used to my snow bed - _casket_, I corrected myself subconsciously.

I tried to at least look on the bright side of things, even though I'm not much of an optimist. There were worse ways that I could die. And at least I would die in my sleep and not awake.

More minutes past, and I felt my eyes slowly begin to shut. I was falling asleep, I felt so worn out, like a pair of clothes you've worn for years on end. Memories of last night, of Alfred, popped into my head, and I almost laughed bitterly. _He wouldn't know I was gone, either._ My eyes continued to slowly fall shut...

This is it, I thought. "I'm going to fall alseep now, and die. I shall not shed tear. I shall not deny the hands of Death that grip mine soul. I shall face thee, and accept mine fate."

My eyes were now fully closed, and I waited for sleep to overcome my being. It quickly started to come, and right as I was drifting off... I could have sworn that I heard a quiet voice riding on the wind.

"You are not very good at speaking Shakespearean. That _was_ what it was supposed to be, da...?"

My world turned black as I completely surrendered to sleep.


	3. CHAPTER THREE

**Guten tag, everybody! =) I just wanted to let you guys know that you do not even know how much I appreciate all of you reading this, Faving it, reviewing, adding it to your Alerts, everything. It means a lot to me, love goes out to every single one of you! And, as promised, this chapter is longer and, hopefully, better. Reviews and Faves are especially loved! Enjoy~!**

**Hetalia does not belong to me, it belongs to it's respectful and awesome owner. ^^**

**Harsher Than Winter**

**CHAPTER THREE**

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><p>How long did it take, exactly, to get to heaven? Not that I was complaining - the state that I was in was peaceful enough. It was like I was unconscious, almost like I was sleeping. It was warm. For a while it felt like I was floating on soft clouds, gently blowing away in the sky. Though I knew I was dead. I would have to have been. I couldn't have lasted in the sn-<p>

A loud crack interrupted my thoughts, and my eyes flew open wide. My gaze was suddenly met with a dark, brick ceiling that reminded me of a medieval castle. ... What...? This wasn't what heaven should look like... It didn't make sense...

Wait... T-that was it...

... I... I wasn't dead. _I-I wasn't dead...!_ I was... alive! I could feel myself breathing! A-and my heart pumping, letting blood run throughout my veins...! ... How?

_How was I alive?_ I should've been a frozen corpse by then, covered with layers of snow already.

I stared up at the ceiling for a minute, my little hair curl bouncing in front of one of my eyes, trying to remember what happened after I fell asleep. ... I remembered little, only those warm, nice feelings of drifting on clouds and that feeling of what had been sleep. No clues as to how I was alive at that moment.

But then, yet another question popped up in my mind.

_Where am I?_ In a house, obviously, that was easy enough to see. But... I needed more details.

I tried to sit up, and managed with little difficulty. I had been lying on what seemed to be an L-shaped, red velvet couch with a small black billow underneath my head. It was warm in the room, a perfect temperature it almost seemed, so there must not have been any need for blankets.

Having sat up in a more mobile position, now I noticed what was around me, and I hadn't been very off earlier when I had thought that the ceiling looked castle-like, because so did the rest of my surroundings. The walls had the same brick-pattern as the ceiling, except they had huge dents and chips missing, even some holes, from the tough stone. Odd.

Along one wall was a huge cabinet, about as tall as me, made completely out of sturdy, polished oak. There was a fancy knob attached to it, carved with intricite designs, and a see-through window as well, though I wasn't at the right angle to see what was held inside of the large compartment.

Along another one of the walls was a huge fireplace, and it's fresh ashes indicated that someone had recently made a fire... who? I could almost imagine the flame's warmth being radiated off and spreading throughout the room as it crackled in its boundaries, and I could also imagine a figure of a person tending to the flame, gently, so that it wouldn't go out. Again, who?

The loud crack that had woken me up minutes before sounded again - now that I was awake, I distinguished the sound as metal pounding against something. Despite my body hurting still, the noise startled me and nearly made me fall off of the couch.

Instead of sitting back upright, I decided to get up off the couch and explore, perhaps I would find the person who lived there. So, I pushed myself off of the couch - it was very comfy, if I do say so myself - and stood straight on the clean wooden floor with bare feet. (Where had my shoes gone...? Ah well, I would find them later...) That was when I looked down and realized that although I still had my glasses on (they were clean, thankfully), someone had changed my clothes. Instead of my thick and perfectly-fitting maple pajamas, I now had on brown- and white-striped pajamas that didn't fit well at all. The sleeves and pant legs went well past my hands and feet, and the bottom of the button-down shirt could be worn as a dress on me... not that I-I'd willingly wear a dress, of course. Overall it was comfortable, though I was slightly afraid that I would trip over the pant legs and somehow hurt myself further...

I looked up from my new clothing and back to the room, looking for a door. There was one door, so I carefully walked over to it and gripped the handle with my hand. I slowly twisted the knob and pulled the door open, having to use some of my little strength to even open it - oh wow, was it heavy...!

I peeked outside of the room to spot a long hallway. The hallway's walls had a few pictures on it, photographs of buildings with unique architecture. Along the corridor were doorways, as well, three on each side. I gingerly stepped out into the hallway, leaving the door open behind me.

Right when I took another step down the hallway, trying to decide on which door I should go through first, a third loud crack filled my ears, this one louder than the last two. I jumped slightly, but soon settled and tried to follow where I had heard the noise from. It sounded farther ahead... but I didn't know which door to take, the left or right. So, I walked up to the two doors farthest from where I had been and waited a few minutes, though it felt like forever. Finally, I heard the fourth crack, and it had come from the door on the left. I turned to face the door, and nervously knocked on it twice.

"Who is it?" A low, annoyed voice coming from the other side of the door answered. I gulped nervously, and opened my mouth to try and say something. "It's... um..." I could feel my voice cracking slightly.

Before I had time to say anything else, the door suddenly flew open. A tall, no, not tall, _gigantic_, man appeared in the doorway, glaring down at me. He had intimidating, dark purple eyes that just creeped me out, and a light pink scarf wrapped around his neck. He was wearing a large coat, despite the lovely temperature in the house. Somehow, he looked strangely familiar, though I couldn't put my finger on where I had seen him before. He opened his mouth and spoke, "What do you-" he cut himself off as he then blinked in wonder at me, "ah! You're awake, da?"

Upon realizing who I was, he smiled. His whole demeanor changed completely in that second- I could literally see his eyes lighten, and his stiff posture became more of a relaxed one. Yet... this creeped me out even more, especially the smile. It took all of the strength I had not to run away screaming at that instant... it was that bad.

"W-who are y-you?" I managed to say, trying to look him in the eyes.

At this, he giggled. Which was the scariest thing I had ever seen in my lifetime so far. My knees started to shake, just barely, so I immediately stopped them from doing that. "Why," he started to say, "I am known as Russia. You, little Matvey, may call me Ivan."

I started to remember where that name had sounded familiar from, but then my thinking bubble popped as I realized he had called me "Matvey", which I was smart enough to know was the Russian equivalent of "Mattie". I never told him my name. "H-how do you k-know my name?" I stuttered, frowning slightly.

The Russian ignored my question with a blink, and looked at me with a blank face. "How do you feel, Matvey? I see that what I did to your fingers cured your frostbite, da?"

I suddenly remembered back to how my fingertips had looked when they started to turn that black, but then I looked at my fingers now. I brought my hand up to my face, examining each fingertip. They all looked fine. "H-how did you-" I started to ask, but Ivan cut me off.

"It was simple. I just put your fingers in boiled water, and kept changing the water every few minutes for... a half hour or so. It worked well, da?"

I nodded, still looking at my hands. Then I looked back up at the intimidating man. "T-thank you..." I murmured.

"_пожалуйста_, You're welcome." he said, nodding slightly.

"Oh!" I said, remembering something. "W-what was that cracking noise earlier? I-I heard it from the room I was at, and it s-sounded like metal."

"Nothing." Ivan said, suddenly frowning and having a dull tone. A second later, he smiled again, and he put his gloved hand on my shoulder. "You are hungry, da? I have nice food for dinner in the kitchen."

Honestly, I was hungry. I hadn't eaten in well over twenty-four hours. Luckily, I didn't have to speak. My stomach answered for me, emoting a loud grumble.

Ivan's smile widened even more, and he grabbed my wrist as he led me through the hallway and into another door.


	4. CHAPTER FOUR

**I'm sorry this update took so long, guys! Whenever I had inspiration to write, I got interrupted somehow. But, here's this chapter! I hope all of you reading enjoy it (Faves, Reviews, and Alerts are loved~!)! Oh, and by the way, I think I'm going to head this fic in a slightly different direction than planned (not that I planned it out, I just wing it =P), so now it is planned! Yay! **

**Hetalia and its characters do not belong to me. ... Though that would be awesome, wouldn't it?**

**Harsher Than Winter**

**CHAPTER FOUR**

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><p>It turns out, Ivan's house really <em>was<em> castle! Well, on the inside, at least, he explained to me earlier as we were walking through numerous identical doors. (I made a mental note to try and not get lost like a lab rat in a maze, that would be rather scary.) He said that on the outside it looked like a simple mansion, big and plain. It didn't really need to look fancy on the outside, he said that he was in the middle of the forest, so he didn't get visitors very often. Ivan enjoyed the castle-theme on the inside, though, it reminded him of memories when he was a young country.

Now, we were both sitting at a long, shiny marble table in the dining room. If you went through a nearby door, it would lead you into the kitchen. In the middle of the table sat a candelabra, all of the candles lit and glowing lightly. More candles were above, on the ceiling, on a metal, complicated chandelier that looked ancient. It held five red pillar candles, all illuminated and ablaze with large flickering flames.

I twiddled my thumbs innocently, looking down at the empty place mat in front of me. Ivan, who sat across from me, got up from the table, his chair screeching slightly as he pushed it back. I looked up at him and he nodded at me.

"What kind of food do you like?" He asked. "I have leftover Botvinya, Vareniki, Pelmeni - my sister loves that when she comes over - , and Kholodets. As for drinks, I have vodka," he smiled at this slightly before continuing, "water, Kvass, Medovukha, Black Tea, and... maybe some Sbiten, da?"

"Mm..." I thought for a second, biting lip a tiny bit. I had no clue what hardly any of those things were. Then a lightbulb went off in my head. "D-do you have ingredients for pancakes?" I asked timidly and hopefully. If he did, I could easily make some... I had sort of a craving for pancakes, lately, and it'd be nice to have them.

Ivan smiled, and I shivered slightly. "Ingredients for pancakes... _Нет_, no. But I may have the ingredients for blini... they're similar to pancakes. You want me to make some, da?"

At this, I smiled brightly and stood from my chair. "Yes, please. Could I maybe help you make them? I am really good at making pancakes, I always made them at my house when my brother forgot to make breakfast or... lunch... or dinner... for me."

Ivan shook his head, and a frown found my face. "_Нет_," he stated simply. After a moment of silence from me, he added, "You are my guest. I shall make you delicious food, da?"

I nodded my head, disappointed but understanding. Ivan started to head for the kitchen's door, but before he did, my head shot up. "Oh, Ivan...!"

Ivan suddenly stopped and turned slightly. "Da?" A scarily polite smile was plastered on his face.

I blinked. "I-I forget to thank you for rescuing me. ... You k-know, if you hadn't come..." I trailed off, thinking back. Tears threatened to escape from my eyes, and I hastily blinked them away.

The large Russian nodded curtly. "_Пожалуйста_, you're welcome. No need to thank me further; I couldn't just leave you there to rot, da?" He giggled slightly, bringing his gloved hand up to cover his mouth like a child. With that, he opened the door and entered the kitchen, his scarf flowing behind him, and closed the door roughly.

I sighed and looked around the capacious room. It would probably take around a half hour or so until the Russian pancakes would be done, and I was kind of bored. I walked around, noting how the walls were covered in large paintings of two women. They both looked like Ivan, had the same face and hair color. I blushed as I laid my eyes on one of them - her chest looked bigger than Ivan's whole body! And the other one had Ivan's eyes, except her's were even more frightening, if possible. They must all be closely related, I thought, his sisters. He did mention he had at least one...

For the next twenty five minutes I just wandered around the room, eying every little trinket that Ivan seemed to have. Soon I smelled a delicious smell, almost like hot pancakes! I smiled, and went to go sit back down at my seat, right when Ivan burst out of the kitchen, carrying a huge stack of blini on a plate along with a glass. He came over to where I sat, and delicately placed the plate and glass in front of me. "T-thank you," I said quietly, eying the steaming food, "it looks delicious." They did look similar to pancakes, just thinner and more home-made. Then I looked at the clear glass, and picked it up. It had a clear liquid in it, and I sniffed. It was odorless, so I took a sip. I was glad to find out it was just ice water and not one of the other strange things the Russian had mentioned.

Ivan nodded and went to sit down in his own chair across from me. I looked at his empty place mat. "Don't you want any panca- er, blini?" I inquired, setting my drink back down.

Ivan shook his head, smiling. "I already ate earlier," was his simple reply.

I started eating the foreign food in silence with a fork and knife, and it tasted almost as good as my own pancakes, but not quite. The whole time I was eating, savoring each tiny bite, I could feel Ivan's eyes glued to me, watching my every move... I didn't dare look up to meet his gaze.

_He's... just being a good host_, I tried thinking, squirming a tiny bit due to his watchful eye. It was only minutes later when I finished eating the stack of blini, and then I carefully wiped my mouth with a provided napkin. I inched my face upwards to look at the Russian, who was still staring at me with his eerie features. "Thank you for the food, it was yummy." I smiled, trying to make it look convincing through my nervous posture.

Ivan nodded. "You thank me too much, da? And you're quiet. You are very polite, and shy, as well. Two odd qualitites to have." He grinned.

"Y-yes, I get that a lot, when people actually notice and talk to me..." I trailed off, as I did very often.

"No one hardly ever notices you...?" Ivan asked. He... he had a gleam in his eye, now, one that made me feel uncomfortable and sqeemish.

I slowly nodded, pushing my glasses up the bridge of my nose a bit. "Yeah... though it's not the worst thing in the world to happen, _eh_?" I laughed a tiny bit, mostly at the small "eh" I added at the end. Yay for Canadian stereotypes?

The Russian chuckled at the "eh", apparently getting the attempt at a joke.

A few awkward moments of silence passed before I looked around the room once more, and then back at the Russian, putting on a more polite face. "I thank you for being a polite host, rescuing me, treating my fingers, and feeding me, but when could I go back to my house? My polar bear friend, Kumajiro, will probably be wondering where I am by now, as well as my brother." Both of those statements were probably a lie, but I don't know how much more of this ominous Russian I could take.

Said Russian answered immediately. "Not for a while. A month or two, maybe." Silence filled the room for a shocked moment.

I could feel my jaw drop and my eyes widen, and I'm pretty sure I gasped, too. "W-what?" I asked.

Ivan blinked. "Well, it is Winter, and we're in the middle of the forest, da? I do not own a vehicle, and you could never make it back to your house, wherever it's at, by yourself, little Matvey. You'd be dead if you took one step out there."

I winced at the last part (that was just kind of harsh... I may not be the hero like my brother, but I was somewhat tough...). I started to argue, "But-"

I was cut off by Ivan's rough shake of the head. "No," he said matter-of-factly, "you will die if you go out there." And then he smiled gently - his personalities seemed to change so quickly sometimes, it was frightening. "Just stay here until the snow melts. It won't be long, da?"

I suppressed a sigh and nodded slightly. I wasn't going to win that argument. "Okay, I w-will stay, I suppose, just until Winter's over. Thank you for your h-hospitality."

Ivan grinned, that twinkle in his eyes again. "Da! Thank you for understanding, Matvey. I think it'd be despressing to know that you didn't follow my advice and ended up a frozen corpse, da?" He chuckled an odd laugh, and I followed suit by laughing nervously.

... What had I gotten myself into?


	5. CHAPTER FIVE

**Hey everyone! I'm sorry for how long I took to update. =P I'm currently pet-sitting in a mansion, and so I've been distracted (a creepy mansion... a freaky-looking, abnormally large cat named "Steve"... HetaOni much? xD /shot!). Anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter! The next one will be much more interesting, I think, because... well, you'll just have to read, eh? ^^ Reviews and faves are _much_ loved! They keep me living! And... you all wouldn't want me dead... right? O.o; Crap... Enjoy the chapter!~**

**Hetalia and its characters do not belong to me. I only abuse them to my will. xD**

**Harsher Than Winter**

**CHAPTER FIVE**

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><p>That night, Ivan had shown me back to the room I had originally woke up in. He wished me good nightmares (... what was up with that...?) and then had turned around and left for his own room down the hall (the one I had found him in... with the strange noises...).<p>

I shut the door and strode over to the room's bathroom, where I flipped the light switch on. I found that near the sink was a maroon-colored towel and a stack of neatly folded pajamas, new ones that smelled like they had just been laundered.

... Odd, they couldn't have just been cleaned, Ivan was with me the last hour or so... I wiped the thought from my mind as I started to undress, stripping off the overly-large pajamas I had worn that day. I really needed to take a shower, I hadn't had one since I was last home... I sighed. I wouldn't be able to go back there for a long while. I wasn't even able to contact Alfred... maybe Ivan had a phone somewhere around his home...? I hadn't seen one, but it would be worth asking the Russian tomorrow.

After undressing and taking off my glasses, I opened up the opaque door to the one-person shower and carefully stepped in. I was happy to find travel-size shampoo and conditioner bottles, along with a small bar of light green soap. Then I turned the water on, and it shot out of the shower head and onto my body. I closed my eyes happily at the nice, warm water, and relaxed.

... (TWENTY-FIVE MINUTES LATER) ...

Satisfied that I was clean, I turned the shower's water off and opened the glass door, carefully stepping out so that I didn't slip and fall. Water silently dripped from my naked body as I grabbed the towel, and started drying myself off, first my hair - making sure to avoid that one curly strand I had - and the the rest of my body. Aftwerward, I put on my glasses and the new pajamas and looked at myself in the mirror (the fog that had been on it had disappeared by now, so it was easy to see myself again).

The new pajamas were a baby blue, and they fit me much better than the last ones had. I felt much better now that I was clean, so, turning the light back off, I stepped out of the bathroom and over to the couch. I laid down, staring up at the ceiling, my hands resting on my stomach.

And then... I heard it again. _That noise_ - metal hitting against something. What was that, even? It sounded like it was coming from Ivan's room, like last time. What could he possibly be doing? ... I'd try and ask him about it again tomorrow. Maybe he would tell me something this time...

... Tomorrow would certainly be a busy day. With that last thought, I closed my eyes and let the evenly spaced beat of the metallic noise lull me to sleep.

... (THE NEXT MORNING) ...

I woke up, screaming, the next morning. (It was almost noon, actually. I guess I had needed more rest than I had thought...) I only woke up screaming because I was having a terrible nightmare. My nightmare was... it was... a messed-up version of Alice in Wonderland. I thought back to it, my screaming already ceased by then...

All of the characters - the rabbit, Alice, the mad tea man, the twins - were utterly demented beyond belief! What was worse was that they were all serial killers, all hunting me down like wolves would to their prey. They were running after me with weapons held firmly in their hands, down a street only lit up by blood-colored light posts. I had no shoes on in, and so the cold concrete stung my feet as I ran. My chest rose up and down quickly as I was breathing heavily, my heart racing.

I had then suddenly turned to run into a dark alleyway that was barely lit... only to find out that it was a dead end. There was nowhere else to turn in the alley, either.

It was too late to turn back - the sadistic characters were already at the alley's entrance/exit, slowly creeping towards my shaking body. I shifted and slid down the alley's wall, cowering against it.

There was nothing I could do at that point. I lifted my arms in front of my head, trying to shield myself from certain destruction that was sure to come. Through the gap in my arms I could see the smirk on all of their faces... especially Alice's. Her's was the biggest, it took up more than half of her scarred and ravaged face.

They all held their weapons out, above their heads, ready to strike my body. Tears were welling up in my eyes, and my body shook uncontrollably. Then, their weapons sliced the air as they collided with my untouched skin.

And that's when I had woken up, screaming due to the fact that I was getting killed. Of course, when I woke up, I found that no one was trying to kill me, it had just been a horrible nightmare, thank God. But still... it was definitely one of the scariest nightmares I had ever had. What brought it on... I had no clue.

Now I sat up on the couch I had been sleeping on, lifting my glasses up slightly so that I could rub my tired eyes. I stifled back a yawn, as well, and pushed my way off the couch so that I was standing.

I figured that I should go find Ivan first, and ask him the questions I had for him. So, I sleepily shuffled over to the door, opened it up, and walked out, making my towards Ivan's door. I stopped in front of it, and saw a yellow note taped to the door. It had small, neat handwriting on it, and I peered closer to read it. The note said:

_Privet, Matvey~_

_I will not be home until sometime later. Dinner has been made for you, it is covered and in the refrigerator in the kitchen, feel free to eat it. Make sure as to not get into trouble while I'm gone, da? That would be bad._

_- Ivan_

The Russian's accented voice filled my head as I read it and sighed. So much for asking him questions... but at least he hadn't forgotten to leave me food. But where was he leaving to? It was just odd that-

And that was when I heard it. It wasn't the metallic noise, though, it was quite different. It was more like... frantic scurrying? The sound of light footsteps in a hurry to be somewhere. It barely even registered in my ears, the noise was so quiet, but I knew I heard it. But, just like the metallic noise had, it came through from on the other side of Ivan's door._ ... No, it couldn't be anything. Though... I-I know that I did hear a noise. Maybe... maybe I should just investigate. Yeah..._

And with that, I turned the doorknob to Ivan's door and pushed on it, slowly inching the heavy door open. It seemed heavier than the other doors... or maybe I was just still tired. Either way, I finally got the door open enough so that I could slip through, which I did.

When I got inside Ivan's room, it looked basically the same as mine. Instead of a couch, though, Ivan had a king-sized bed with neatly fixed dark crimson sheets. But then, once I looked closer, I noticed something else different about his room: it had a stairway leading downwards. The stairway was in the floor, and it appeared that there was a wooden swing door latched to it, opened. It reminded me almost like the one on a tree house Alfred and I had when we were young countries - except, instead of a ladder leading to the ground... who knew where the stairs led to...?

Well... I couldn't just leave and not explore more._ Not knowing what the stairway led to would keep me up and awake, wondering about it every night, right? T-that wouldn't be healthy... Plus, the s-scurrying noise! Whatever it was obviously wasn't in Ivan's room..._

So, then, after a long minute of careful thinking, I made my descision.

I walked over to the staircase and put my first foot down on the first step. Although the stair's steps looked old, they didn't creak, which helped my fear a bit - hey, creaky staircases are scary, especially in mansions! Then I hesitantly put my other foot on the second step down, and continued on like that, slowly descending the staircase leading into the dark unknown.


	6. CHAPTER SIX

**Hello everybody! First, I'd like to say, I'm so, so sorry for the long wait on the update! ;3; I was away from the laptop that this story is on, and so I couldn't work on the chapter, like, at all! So, again, I'm sorry!**

**As I said in my Profile (you can get updates on the story there... *coughs*... when I actually update it...), I'd give all those who Faved this story, added it to their alerts, and reviewed it a special little shoutout up here in this little Author's Note. Why? Because, I love you all, and even if I don't send you a thank-you message, I want to let all of you guys know that I really do appreciate all support! ^^**

**So, I want to give very special thanks to all who read this, and even more special thanks to the following people (I might mention a few people multiple times, so... multiple special thank-yous to you? xD): Rosebud snow, JHO14, Ottilia, oiseau (who reviewed), NialsFiction, Rosebud snow, Star-Tigress, Peacelotus, Danichantotally, Seruru44, SimsKaida, BloodNeko02, YYxYandJxS4eva (who faved), Dreamaker401, JHO14, Nakita Braginski-Williams, Piikanyaa, TreesAndCheese, Ottilia, Seraphine Sky, Peacelotus, PokemontrainerNelly, The Battle of Words, Velvet Contemplations, Fluffy666, JoyHeart, Nivium, 8NobodyKnows8, Skippy the Hobolo, and Danichantotally (who alerted)! So, again, thank you all. ^-^ ... *cough* Now, you may continue onto the story if you read all of this (*doubts it*). xD**

**Hetalia and all of its characters do not belong to me. They belong to Hidekaz Himaruya. ^-^ **

**Without further ado, I present to you...**

**Harsher Than Winter**

**CHAPTER SIX**

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><p>As I descended further, went down deeper and deeper, it just got darker. It got to the point where I could barely make out any of the steps' outlines, so then I moved more cautiously. Soon the staircase began to spiral, and so I put my hand on the cold wall for guidance.<p>

After a dozen or so minutes, the stairway finally ended, and I was relieved that I was on flat, hard ground once more. Now, I was faced with a long hallway, which was illuminated faintly by torches along the walls. In the dim light, I observed cobwebs that hung to the ceiling, gently flowing with the tiny air current.

... Was this some sort of basement? It must've been... Though most normal basements didn't have, you know, spiraling staircases or torches alining the walls. This was just getting too weird...

And yet, I continued on. I needed to know what that scurrying noise was, especially since it didn't sound like any animal I had ever heard. E-Even if I was scared, I needed to find out...

I walked down the basement's hallway, barely brushing the tips of my fingers against the side of the wall as I went along.

When I finally came to the ending of the hallway, there was a large chamber. Like the hallway, it had torches, a dozen or so of them, on the walls. I could see crates scattered on the floor, in piles some of them, with labels that must have been written in Russian. It had a dreary feeling to it all, it was almost sad to see a room this dusty and abandoned. As my eyes roamed the room more, they grew in surprise as something particularly ominous stuck out...

... It was a cage. Not just a tiny, animal-sized cage. It was _huge_ - the top of it reached the basement's ceiling. I-It could easily accommodate a few people. Why did Ivan have that cage in his basement? ... He m-must have a good reason why, a-a nice reason... maybe he... or maybe... Ridiculous ideas filled my head, but I shook them away when I heard... was that glass breaking? I turned my head towards where the noise had come from - behind one of the piles of crates. Immediately after the noise, I could faintly spot small glass shards slide and scatter across the floor.

A harsh mumbling came from behind the same pile of boxes as I stared in shock. My whole body momentarily froze, and I felt a knot in my stomach. That mumbling - it was definitely a person, though I couldn't make out any of the words.

"H-Hello?" I called, my voice quiet yet anxious. I waited for a reply of some sort, but there was suddenly a hushed silence. Everything was dead quiet.

I forced my body to start moving, breathing in and out deeply, and turned the rest of my body around to take an uneasy step towards the crate pile. I took another step, and another, and so forth.

And then, just like that, I was facing three dark figures, tiny and huddled in a corner of the crates.

"Do you think he'll see us? I don't want to be found! My hand hurts, it's bleeding...!" One of them whispered hastily to the figure next to it, sniffling.

"No... if he finds us, Master will kill us for sure... so just keep your head bent and your eyes closed..." The voice that I had originally heard mumbling said in a reassuring tone. "And for your hand, I'll pluck the shards out when he lea-"

"Stay silent, you two! He may be right around the corner..." The third figure spoke in a more intelligent tone.

My brain really only registered the last voice, as it was louder than the others by a bit. "But... I'm right here..." I whispered, my brows furrowing slightly. Then, seeing as none of them reacted to my soft voice, I spoke more loudly, "W-who are you three? Why are you down here?"

The three heads snapped up and now I could see their faces far easier. They all seemed to be younger than me, but their faces... all of them were bruised and had scars that I could see in the low light. The one in the middle, now that he was looking up, I could see that his hand was all bloody, the red liquid slowly dripping onto his clothes as he knelt...

They all scrambled back even farther in their little corner, staring up at me with wide, frightened eyes. We all stayed silent for what seemed like forever, just staring at each other. And then finally, the one that had spoken last - he had a cracked pair of glasses on - spoke up, turning his frightened stare into a hard one. "Leave," he said sternly. "We're nobodies. Forget you saw us. ... Please."

His tone of voice shocked me. I drew in a sharp breath, and felt my leg take a small step back. After a moment of staring at the trio: the brunette looking at me pleadingly now; the small blond with the bleeding hand, trembling; and the other blond with the cracked glasses... I finally managed to stammer, "N-no. Whoever you are, you n-need h-help. I'm not leaving u-until I know who you are, and why you're down here!" I admit, it was unusual boldness compared to my shy attitude. But... there was no way I could just forget that they, whoever "they" were, were down in a basement, injured, bloody, bruised...

The glasses-wearing blonde sighed heavily. He looked back at the other two, giving them a look of defeat. "Should... should we tell him? I'm sure he'll ask Master Ivan... and that would be dangerous for all of us." He glanced briefly at me as he spoke the last part, nervousness clouding his voice.

The other two nodded slightly, looking rather defeated and sad as well. "But... maybe I should tell him...?" The brunette piped up. The other two nodded, mumbling, "Of course."

"Well..." the brunette started, looking up at me with now emotionless eyes. They reminded me of dark holes, or pits. "First off, I am Toris. These two are Eduard," he gestured to the blonde with glasses, "and Raivis," he then gestured to the younger blonde, who was still clutching his bloodied hand. "We're Ivan's... servants, I guess you could say. ... 'Slaves' would also be a correct term. How we got to be his little servants... well, it all started a few years ago.

"Eduard, Raivis, and I were all living together in a small village... not too far from here, I don't think. We supplied ourselves well enough to survive. It was all going fairly well... until we somehow ended up poverty-stricken, and had a sudden food shortage. All of our neighbors slowly starved to a horrible death, and we were on the verge of our lives at that time, as well. Master Ivan... _Russia_... came to our rescue... He brought us here, and kept as us guests. He was nice during that time, even though he was a bit creepy... as you can already tell.

"When we were well enough to leave... he wouldn't allow us. He said that we owed a debt to him... our lives. Raivis told him that we would still leave, it was at Russia's own generosity that he did that for us. That's when Russia told us..." Toris paused, gulping. "That's when he told us that if we ever left, he would track us down, and beat us into submission. ... I didn't doubt his word."

He paused for a moment, letting his dark eyes wander around the room before finally turning back up to me. "And then, you arrived. Master Ivan - what he told us to call him - had brought you home, cared for you like he did yesterday. Well... it was more like us caring for you. Your laundry, your dinner..." He stopped to let out a short, soft, bitter laugh, a fake smile on his face, "... everything. When you first arrived, we were planning on asking you to help us - we had guessed that Master Ivan had the same idea of doing to you what he did to us - so... we only had a matter of time.

"But then it seemed we faced a dilemma. Master Ivan told us not long after you had arrived that if we tried to make contact with you of any sort, he would- ... he would..." He trailed off, but I knew that if he had continued, the words spoken would just become more horrible and unbelievable. I nodded slightly, showing my understanding of this crazy situation.

Well... could I really understand it? I tried to lay the facts out simply in my head...: The three people in front of me were Ivan's, um, servants. They had obviously been beaten many times before by Ivan... Ivan, the person - or monster, as I knew him to be now - who had "rescued" them... and me. What was going to happen to me? Was I going to end up like them...?

"And the cage...?" I suddenly spoke up, afraid of the answer. I had to confirm my suspicions, even though I had a dreaded feeling I'd be right...

Toris glanced nervously over to one of the crates, where the cage would be on the other side of the basement. "That's for us... Though only for further punishment after we're beaten." Raivis then tugged at the sleeve of Toris's shirt, whining a tiny bit. "Mm?" Toris said, and then his eyes widened slightly. "Oh yes, your hand, I'm sorry, I forgot. Come, let's go get the First Aid kit down here." He got up, along with both Raivis and Eduard. Toris took Raivis's good hand, and held it as the two stepped by me, heading off into a different part of the basement.

Eduard, who was still just standing there, nodded at me. "I think it'd be best if you get going now - up to the kitchen, to eat. Ivan will be home soon. He will be mad if you do not eat enough, and he will most surely take his anger out on us, so please. ... And don't mention him of us, or even think about us. As I said earlier, it'd be tragic for all of us if he knew we ever spoke to each other. I'm... sure you understand... correct?" He adjusted his glasses at the end slightly, pushing them up the bridge of his nose.

I nodded, whispering a "Yes... of course. Goodbye for now... And I will try to get us all out of here if worse comes to worse, without Ivan's knowing... I promise." Did I really mean what I said? Of course... but really, they had been trying to escape for a long time, apparently... I repressed a shudder.

Eduard just gave a small nod, muttering a doubtful "Mm."

I took that as a goodbye, and turned around, heading back the way I came (a bit hurriedly since Eduard had said that Ivan would be home soon... maple!), eventually ending back up in Ivan's room. I saw the room through different eyes now. All I could imagine was Ivan yelling at the trio in this very room, beating them... This time I really did shudder, and I ran out of the room, making sure to close the door tight, and to the kitchen to eat.


	7. CHAPTER SEVEN

**Yes, I am back from the dead! I'm sorry to any of my followers who hate me now for taking so long on this chapter. ;P I just had no inspiration. I wrote this literally an hour or so ago, because I suddenly had some awesome inspiration, and had to use it. xD Thank you to anyone who reads this fic, I seriously appreciate it!**

**Hetalia and all of its characters do not belong to me, sadly, they belong to Himaruya Hidekaz. There'd be so much more Prussia and yaoi in it if I did own it. xD **

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><p>Harsher Than Winter<p>

CHAPTER 7

I rushed through the kitchen door as fast as I could, only sparing minimal time to locate the refrigerator. The fridge's door flung open, and inside the entire fridge, I saw only one bowl, light green, covered in silvery tin foil. On the tin foil was a yellow sticky note, obviously also written by Ivan. I pulled the bowl out, and turned around, lightly closing the door with my foot. Squinting my eyes, I read the tiny hand-written print:

_Matvey~_

_I see you must've woken up and gotten hungry, da? This dish is called cold borscht - do not be intimidated by its odd look. A spoon, place mat, and water have been set for you at the dining table. Remember, do not get into any trouble while I am in leave._

_- Ivan_

Just an hour earlier I had thought that getting into any trouble had been impossible. But now... Images of the basement's three residents flashed through my mind, gruesome and nauseating. I shook my head of the pictures, hastily going back into the dining room where everything had been set out neatly for me. Courtesy of Ivan's slaves, I thought bitterly.

Sitting down, I took the tin foil off of the bowl and stared at its contents in horror.

Oh God... it was pink. Bright, hot pink. Soup. Soup should _not_ be pink. Ever. And, what was that? It had green stuff floating in it. ... Oh God.

I picked up the spoon that was placed to my right and hesitantly dipped it into the eye-scarring soup. Right as I pressed the spoon to my lips, readying myself to sip it, the door to the dining room burst open, causing me to drop my spoon, spilling the small amount of cold liquid it held.

_Thank God_, I thought to myself, until I saw who it was who created the distraction of my terrible-looking food-eating.

Ivan grinned at me, striding over to the chair opposite of where I was sitting. "Privet, Matvey! How are you liking your cold borscht?"

I laughed nervously, trying to hide my discomfort at his arrival. "A-actually, I haven't tried it yet, though I bet it'll be delicious, I was just staring at its odd... color." More nervous chuckling emanated from my mouth. Oh God, I couldn't even look him in the eyes anymore, now that I knew what he was...

Ivan nodded. Thank God he couldn't read my mind. "But remember, do not judge things for their appearance! Go on, try it. If you do not like it, then you don't have to eat it."

Just something from him voice told me that even if I didn't like it, I'd have to suck it up and eat it, or starve. "Haha, s-sure, I'm sure I'll like it, even if it is a rather weird color for food..." I picked up my fallen spoon from the table, and got another scoop of the flamboyant food. Without another thought, I stuffed it in my mouth, and immediately the bitter, gagging taste of beets tingled my taste buds. It was pretty hard to not think of puking from eating this stuff, it looked far better than it tasted. Still, I managed to choke most of the spoonful down, washing the rest down my throat with my water, almost drinking the whole cup.

"So?" Ivan's voice had an honest ring in it, a nice ploy.

I nodded as I finished gulping down the water, acting as if I was thinking about it. "It didn't taste too bad," I lied.

Since I didn't hear any response from the Russian, I dared to look at his face. He had an eyebrow raised, questioning. "Oh, really?"

More timidly this time, I nodded, bringing my eyes back down to the horrid soup.

Another pause from the Russian. When I looked back up to his face, he was smiling creepily again, his eyes closed. "You know, Matvey, you really are a terrible liar! You should never lie to me. Even when you do try, you should try better than that."

It may have just been my need of more sleep, or my creative imagination going to extremes, but I could've sworn I saw dark purple flames rise behind his back, an aura of darkness, licking at the air around him. Either way, I got the message clear enough: Don't lie to him.

I nodded, putting on a poker face - for my sake or his, I don't know. "Ah, yes, I'm afraid you're right... I'm very sorry. I just didn't want to sound rude... Won't happen again, Ivan." At his name, I almost flinched in spite of myself. He didn't seem to notice. He just giggled lightly and came over to my side, putting his hand on my shoulder.

"See? It's all right, da? Just don't do it again."

I nodded unconsciously. A moment of awkward silence washed over us (or me, more specifically, he didn't seem to feel awkward at all) before an earlier question hit me. Now would be the best time as ever to ask, especially since it would change the subject. "Oh, I was g-going to ask you earlier... but do you perhaps have a phone here somewhere?"

"Why?" Ivan almost sounded hurt. ... Or mad. But he covered his emotions nicely, adding on, "Who would you be calling, especially so late in the evening?"

"My brother, Alfred. I just need to tell him that I won't be home until... until the snow melts."

Ivan blinked. "Your brother, is he like you?"

I took a moment before I said anything. "We're fraternal twins - we barely look anything alike, but people still confuse me with him, or just don't notice me at all. He's loud, rash, bold, and happy-go-lucky. No, we're nothing alike. ... Honestly, I think he got all the good genes." I paused, thinking back to memories where he always outshined me, put me in the background, did anything I did and did it ten times better. _But, even through everything..._ "I love him, though. He's the only family I got left." At that last statement, my voice became so quiet, I could barely even hear myself.

The Russian nodded, almost thoughtfully. "Where does he live?"

I was more reluctant to answer this question, but knew that if I lied Ivan would know. "He lives with me, a mile and a half or so outside of Dawson City."

At this, the Russian seemed genuinely surprised. "You traveled a long time, little Matvey. You're on the border line of Alaska."

... I could almost feel my jaw drop off its hinges. I had traveled that long, in twelve or so hours? That seemed highly ridiculous, but clearly, somehow, it was possible.

"So..." I started, looking up to meet Ivan's purple orbs. "Could I please call him...?" I vaguely wondered if I looked as desperate as my voice sounded.

Ivan nodded, almost too eagerly. "Of course! I wouldn't want him to be worrying about his brother Matvey, da?" His eyes flickered away from mine, and I followed them to see that he was looking at my empty glass. "But you've talked a lot. Before you speak to him, you might want to wet your throat with some water, da?"

Before I could even answer, he had delicately picked up my glass and walked briskly over to the kitchen's door, disappearing behind it. He reappeared a minute later, handing the glass to me, I nodded my thanks. "Come, drink the water while I show you to the phone. It's right this way."

He started heading out the dining room door out into the hallway, and I hurried to catch up, sipping some of the water so it wouldn't spill out. I finally caught up, staying a few steps behind him as he led me past numerous doors. It almost seemed like we were going in circles, everything looked the same to me. Another drink of water.

Just as I was about to ask if we were almost close to the phone, Ivan sped up. "Hey... slow down..." I murmured. Trying to match his pace, I tripped over my own feet, slamming my hand against the wall for support as I almost fell, dropping the glass and spilling the remains of the water. My vision seemed to blur, and I could feel my eyes dilating, focusing in and out. "Ivan... don't... feel... good..." My world turned upside down as the floor beneath me disappeared. The last thing I can remember is seeing a dark figure towering above me, an outline in my vision.

"Good night, Matvey."

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><p><strong>God, Mattie. There's only three rules when you're in Russia's home, that you must remember to follow!<strong>

**1. Don't drop the soap.**

**2. Don't drink the water.**

**3. Become one with Russia. ^J^ ( Russia's own, personal rule. xD)**

**Review, please...? ^-^**


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